HIRAYA COLUMN: Troubled Waters

Note: This shall be my column for HIRAYA’s maiden issue. The column header is IPSO FACTO, and the article “Troubled Waters” shall be the first article under it. Enjoy!

TROUBLED WATERS

With the water crisis Beato Angelico faced for almost a month, the building shook to its nerves

By John Carlo Masajo

In every civilization that sprung in the world, it is clear that they were built beside rivers, along shores, and on islands. Remember that Mesopotamia is a civilization built between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and the Chinese civilization upon Huang He and Yang Tze rivers. Even the great Greek civilization was founded on the shores and close islands within the Aegean Sea.

At one point of Great Britain’s history, when its sanitation was in peril, the country literally walked on poop. Nations in Africa are in decades of famine due to lack of water. This proves that the rise and fall of a civilization, or a society mainly depends on its water.

And Beato Angelico was tested using the exact standard; water. For three consecutive weeks, Beato Angelico, the UST structure that holds the Colleges of Fine Arts and Design and Architecture, experienced water interruptions. Everything happened without advice from either administration or the CFAD SC.

Like a civilization, an academic society depends on specific important utilities such as water in its daily life. Most especially for CFAD students, who constantly deal with paints and other messy media that water is needed either as its base or for washing. Both faculty and students experienced the yellowing color of the comfort rooms and the ammonia-scented corridors. A crisis was indeed happening.

One of my sources said that she almost got UTI because of the dysfunctional comfort rooms, which dysfunctional state can be attributed directly to the insufficient water supply. Classes that use water as paint base were interrupted for not just one instance. People cannot pee, and the smell that lurks the structures is far beyond what can be defined as tolerable.

In a letter sent by the Buildings and Grounds (BnG) Office to the administrators of the college and the student council, they apologized for the insufficient water supply because water was delivered from Dapitan and that when it reaches Beato Angelico, it was close to nothing. The letter came after the water crisis was seen in the internet. The administrators and the SC as well addressed the issue after the world knew about it.

The issue of Beato Angelico’s troubled water supply is a relevant issue for everyone. We need water for most of our activities; from using the comfort rooms to cleansing our hands after its use; and to make our Beato Angelico existence more bearable. Without water, lives are disrupted, life is uncomfortable, and the capability of our leaders is tested. Precious money is paid for us to experience the best water supply, and this concern made us question where our money for water is spent.

To make situations worse, no alternative was proposed by any of the offices concerned. They have not even thought of sending rations using the UST Fire trucks, or to outsource water supply temporarily until the issue is resolved. The waters tested our leaders’ capacity to provide viable alternatives and to provide temporary solutions.

At a certain point, those who complained were requested to keep quiet about the issue, including myself, attempted to be silenced and threatened by various sectors. Waters test the fortitude of those who address the truth, and those who attempt to suppress the truth with lousy politics and libelous replies; A lame way to address the water issue looming in Beato Angelico’s august comforts rooms.

The water issue has good and bad effects to the college. On the adverse effects, it gave the students discomfort, and it gave light to the grave incompetence of our student leaders. On the bright side, we all saw how we operate under the most meager situations; a testament of our flexibility and commitment to pursue our craft no matter what.

For all of us, let us see how this issue will play out, let us closely guard how this water-hole controversy will play its role in the next round of choosing our leaders.

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A Student Leader, Public Servant, and Blogger, John Carlo "JC" Masajo has been at the forefront of students' rights issues in college. Now, he's in the real world, and faces it with the same passion to serve.